Status of K-2 Literacy & Numeracy in DC
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2023
This brief is a continuation of EmpowerK12’s ongoing research into DC students’ academic recovery and progress post-pandemic. Our prior reporting from 2021-22 showed staggering drops in literacy and numeracy skills in early grades due to COVID. Thank you to all the participating LEAs and data managers who made this brief possible!
Elementary school leaders across the District this fall tell us that the school year feels substantially more normal than the start of 2021-22 and 2022-23. Students arrived more socially and emotionally prepared for school with this year’s rising kindergarten class being the first cohort since 2019 to receive two years of in-person pre-kindergarten experience. The social-emotional preparedness of our youngest learners is a significant accomplishment and a key step in creating early childhood environments where all students academically flourish. Research consistently shows that children who develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills before third grade are significantly more likely to be academically successful and develop a love for learning, curiosity, and confidence, which are vital for navigating life's challenges and opportunities.
We collected teacher-administered and computer-based assessment data from DC Public Schools and public charter schools to monitor the progress of students in grades K-2 at the end of the 2022-23 school year. The data sample includes test results for 17,514 students, or about 82% of the total District enrollment in grades K-2. Half of the students (49%) in the sample come from economically disadvantaged households, which is similar to the Districtwide average of 48 percent.
Key Findings
Students in grades K-2 made academic progress in 2022-23, continuing to recover unfinished learning generated by COVID shutdowns.
The amount of literacy progress is mixed with stronger gains on teacher-administered assessments (DIBELS) of foundational skills and smaller gains on computer-based tests (iReady, MAP, and Reading Inventory) of reading comprehension.
Students in grades K-2 demonstrated gains in early childhood numeracy during 2022-23 but remain below pre-pandemic math achievement levels, particularly for students from economically disadvantaged households.
Chronic absenteeism has a profoundly negative impact on young students’ literacy and numeracy proficiency.
Literacy Progress
No matter the type of literacy assessment, students in grades K-2 demonstrated progress in reading skills. Though, the amount of recovery depends on assessment type. DIBELS, a teacher-administered assessment of foundational reading skills aligned with the science of reading, showed a return to pre-pandemic mastery levels. Meanwhile, computer-based test results (iReady, MAP, Reading Inventory) of reading comprehension improved but still trail 2019 achievement rates.
There is some overlap in the literacy skills assessed by both tests, and most schools that administer DIBELS also give one of the computer assessments to better understand both students’ specific literacy skills and their application of them while reading novel text. In those schools, the correlation between students’ DIBELS score and their iReady, MAP, or Reading Inventory score is statistically significant, but the strength of that correlation is considered moderate (r-squared values ranging 0.25-0.38).
Correlation between DIBELS and computer-based reading comprehension tests
Progress in foundational literacy skills
We received DIBELS foundational skills data for a sample of 11,000+ DC students in grades K-2 for school years 2018-19 through 2022-23. Prior to COVID, fifty-five percent of K-2 students demonstrated foundational reading skills on or above grade level. At the end of the virtual school year, that number declined by 15 percentage points to 40 percent of students. As of this past spring, early childhood students demonstrated foundational literacy skills at levels similar to or slightly higher than their same age pre-pandemic peers.
Percent of students on or above grade level based on the DIBELS assessment
Progress in overall reading comprehension
We received computer-based tests scores of overall reading comprehension for a sample of 9,000+ DC students in grades K-2. The percent of students on or above grade level improved over the last two years from COVID lows in spring 2021. However, overall grade level reading comprehension rates in early childhood remain 17 percentage points below pre-pandemic averages for the same grades. Students from economically disadvantaged families are 23 percentage points below pre-pandemic levels of similar students and 22 points behind their peers from more affluent families.
Percent of students on or above grade level using computer-based assessments (iReady, MAP, and Reading Inventory)
Explaining the difference between foundational skills and overall comprehension levels
The improvement in foundational reading skills is significant and positive. It is the first step in our youngest students’ academic recovery, and what the science of reading suggests is a critical component to students’ overall literacy mastery. The next step is additional student practice utilizing those skills in novel contexts to build fluency and comprehension. Hopefully, over the next couple of years, the gains in foundational skills will translate to larger jumps in general reading comprehension. EK12 will continue to monitor this progress.
One way that several DC Bold Performance schools give students more experience applying their foundational phonemic awareness and fluency skills is through art, science, and humanities exposure to build student vocabulary and make reading meaningful beyond the English language arts block.
Numeracy Progress
Students across DC are assessed on their early mathematical skills by computer-based assessments, iReady and MAP. The problems are read aloud to students so that deficits in reading comprehension have a limited impact in assessing their numeracy. Our math sample contains results for about 14,000 DCPS and public charter students in grades K-2. Pre-pandemic in 2019, sixty-two percent of all students in the sample demonstrated numeracy skills that were on or above grade level. By the end of the 2020-21 virtual year, proficiency dropped 14 percentage points. K-2 math proficiency improved each of the last two years, with larger gains during the most recent year, 2022-23.
Percent of students on or above grade level in math/numeracy using computer-based assessments (iReady and MAP).
COVID had a larger, more inequitable impact on early numeracy proficiency for students from economically disadvantaged households. Their rates of being on or above grade level in math dropped 23 points during COVID compared with a 10-point decline for K-2 students from more affluent backgrounds. While students designated as at-risk demonstrated larger percentage point gains from COVID lows, the student group is 15 percentage points lower than pre-COVID levels while students not designated as at-risk are only 4 points behind their pre-COVID level.
Progress by Grade Level
We further examined changes in literacy and numeracy proficiency rates for students in grades K-8 to see if COVID had a differential impact based on students’ age at the height of the pandemic’s virtual learning. Charts below compare proficiency rates on computer-based assessments by enrolled grade level for 2018-19 and 2022-23. We find that our youngest students who participated in virtual learning as pre-kindergarteners or kindergarteners show the biggest skill gaps today compared with students of the same age prior to the pandemic.
Literacy and reading proficiency by enrolled grade level
Numeracy and mathematical proficiency by enrolled grade level
Impact of K-2 Chronic Absenteeism
Chronic absenteeism in the District is up substantially from pre-pandemic levels, and we know that the amount of instructional time students receive is pivotal to their success. Students in grades K-2 with moderate to profound chronic absenteeism are significantly less likely to demonstrate proficiency in literacy or numeracy.
Percent of students on or above grade level in literacy and numeracy in spring based on their level of chronic absenteeism during the school year.
Students who miss less than one day per week are more than twice as likely to demonstrate literacy and numeracy skills on or above grade level. Even missing more than one day per month is linked to substantial declines in achievement. Attendance matters. Tips from the Bold Performance schools on chronic absenteeism include ensuring that students see school as a joyful environment and that they and their parents or guardians know what fun things students will miss if they are absent.
Literacy and Numeracy Next Steps?
In summary, COVID’s impact on our youngest and most vulnerable students’ literacy and numeracy skills was profound, but conditions are improving, especially for students with satisfactory attendance. While our early childhood students have the most time to recover unfinished learning, they require a sustained, data-driven effort to tackle chronic absenteeism and ensure all students have access to the academic interventions they need to enter secondary schooling on track for success.
Last week, OSSE, in collaboration with other District agencies including the State Board of Education, published a set of consensus recommendations from a cross-sector Early Literacy Education Task Force. The task force had four primary recommendations:
Mandated competency in structured literacy instruction for all K-5 general teachers and 6-12 special education teachers
Training in structured literacy for school-based administrators who are responsible for evaluating or supporting K-5 teachers and instructional coaches
Development of a classroom walkthrough, structured literacy tool and pilot direct coaching support for educators while on the job
Create and publish a list of high-quality instructional materials rooted in the science of reading
The Council could create an “early math education task force,” but we also recommend the sector not wait for that process to complete before making big moves to accelerate math recovery. The fact is math proficiency lagged reading proficiency before the pandemic and that gap has only worsened since. We can build on the bright spots we see for math instruction and growth across the city. We should rigorous analytics to seek them out and learn from their promising practices to accelerate the speed of innovation and growth in math citywide.